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April 20, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 5
clarity about its EU perspective and to be treated equally with other countries in the region.
"In absence of a clear perspective, everything else can bring more complications and consequences not only for Kosovo, but also for the entire region,” Thaci was cited by broadcaster RTK.
Finally, a report was issued on Turkey, despite
the region’s largest economy no longer being considered a viable candidate for accession in the foreseeable future, as a political rift has opened up between Brussels and Ankara.
The report on Turkey was highly critical of the country’s political situation, pointing to the state of
Turkey’s Erdogan calls snap landmark elections set to deliver one-man rule
presidency narrowly voted for by the electorate in the April 2017 constitutional referendum. Under the system the position of prime minister will
be abolished and parliament’s role will be much diminished to create a presidential republic instead of a parliamentary one.
Explaining his decision to go for early elections, as recommended by the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP’s) junior ally, the nationalist MHP, on April 17, Erdogan said in a speech broadcast live on television that it was necessary for “Turkey to overcome uncertainties as soon as possible amid developments of historical importance in our region as well as the cross-border operation we’re carrying out [against Kurdish militia] in Syria”.
Erdogan also said: “Even though the president and government are working in unison, the
emergency declared in the wake of the attempted coup of July 2016, which still remains in force. “[T]he broad scale and collective nature, and the disproportionality of measures taken since the attempted coup under the state of emergency, such as widespread dismissals, arrests, and detentions, continue to raise serious concerns. Turkey should lift the state of emergency without delay,” the report stressed.
It also criticised the April 2017 referendum
that considerably extended the powers of the presidency, the undermining of guarantees of respect for human and fundamental rights and what it claimed was a complete lack of progress in fighting corruption.
diseases of the old system confront us at every step we take... Developments in Syria and elsewhere have made it urgent to switch to the new executive system to allow us to take steps for our country’s future in a stronger way.”
The president has always been known
to many analysts as a leader who
hates early elections as they dominated the country’s earlier turbulent decades of weak governments. “Erdogan sees early elections as somehow dishonourable,” Fadi Hakura, who manages the Turkey Project at Chatham House told bne IntelliNews on March 30. “He has traditionally viewed early elections as a sign of weakness and indecision—a failure of politics. And one thing Erdogan likes to do is to project strength and determination.”
Given that reading of Erdogan’s usual preferences in calling an election, cynics immediately focused on the difficulties the government would have had in keeping the economy humming right up until the originally planned date for the elections at the end of 2019.
Another factor in Erdogan's sudden liking for a surprise election, say the critics, might be found in an announcement on April 18 that the